Derek Fisher Hired as Sparks Coach

Former Los Angeles Lakers guard Derek Fisher was hired Wednesday as the coach of the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks, five days after the resignation of Brian Agler.

This will be Fisher’s first coaching position since being fired 54 games into his second season as coach of the NBA’s New York Knicks in 2016.

“Derek is a champion and proven leader on and off the court,” Sparks executive vice president and general manager Penny Toler said. “With his wealth of experience as a former player and head coach, I can’t think of a better steward for our basketball team moving forward.”

Fisher inherits a team that was 19-15 in 2018, the sixth-best record in the 12-team league. The Sparks defeated the Minnesota Lynx, 75-68, in the first round of the playoffs, then lost to the Washington Mystics, 96-64, in the second round.

Fisher was a member of five NBA championship teams with the Lakers during an 18-season NBA playing career that also included stints with four other teams.

Fisher began his coaching career in 2014, immediately after the end of his playing career. The Knicks were 17-65 in his first season, the worst record in franchise history. They were 23-31 in his second season when he was fired.

Fisher has been an in-studio analyst on Laker telecasts on Spectrum SportsNet since 2016.

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Derek Fisher Hired as Sparks Coach was last modified: December 6th, 2018 by Contributing Editor